A festive graduation event marking the first session of the Mentor Program, the Afeka alumni community’s flagship program.

Members of the first session of the alumni community’s Mentor Program met for an exciting graduation event, capping six months of fascinating activity. The program focuses on the professional development, growth, and actualization of its participants through focused guidance.

An exciting graduation event took place this month, marking the first session of the Afeka alumni community’s Mentor Program. At the event were Dr. Amir Kfir, an organizational consultant and management change leader who works regularly in over 40 countries; Afeka’s chief executive officer CPA Miri Oren; Afeka Alumni Relations director Dganit Citrin Bar-On; and the 15 mentor-mentee pairs who participated in the program.

Afeka president Prof. Ami Moyal opened with the following comments: “Our connectivity with you, our alumni, strengthens the bonds between academia and industry. Not through systems, but through genuine human connection. Accordingly, I consider you the key to reinforcing the ongoing dialogue towards educating creative, contemporary, passionate engineers who strive for excellence at every stage of their career.”

The Mentor Program, the Afeka alumni community’s flagship program, was launched in March 2021. In it, young Afeka alumni at the start of their engineering career, who have been interviewed and accepted into the program, receive a unique opportunity to boost their skills and capabilities through personal development, inspiration, and professional added value – by accurately pairing them with 15 mentors, who are all seasoned alumni serving in key roles in the industry.

The program is structured to provide value to all participants: mentors, mentees, and of course the alumni community. In addition to the six-month one-on-one mentorship, mentors also receive professional guidance through a mentor workshop, professional guidance and advice, and peer dialogue for creating connections among the mentors themselves. Selected mentees can also go beyond the active mentorship within their own peer groups, where they can share experiences and connect with community members at a similar stage to their own.

The graduation event brought mentees and mentors for one final formal meeting together, with many pairs expressing an intention to keep the connection going in the future.

Mentors and mentees alike shared moving stories about the significant processes they’d undergone during the program. Some mentees found new work, while others researched fields they hadn’t known before or opened doors they never thought possible. The mentors, for their part, described how much they benefitted from the connection with the mentees – which challenged them, taught them about themselves, introduced them to the new generation of engineers, and gave them a sense of accomplishment, often leading them on a process of their own.

The program’s timing is not accidental. This past year, Afeka celebrated its 25th year. Today, Afeka alumni form a strong, diverse ecosystem with roots deep in the high tech and engineering industries, and are ready and willing to give of their vast knowledge and experience to younger alumni.